I sort of thought the song of the day choice was appropriate considering in the last 48 hours, I have listened to it approximately 276.5 times. I know, right? What can I say? It makes great background music while reading all four books of the Twilight series.
Which, might I say, was fabulous.
I know that the series didn't have the same impact on me as Harry Potter, but I will admit that it was exceptionally nice to be wrapped up in a book series for the first time since last summer. When I first heard about the books, I really had no interest. College students don't read Young Adult fiction. Duh. They read important things like The Odyssey and Frankenstein, right? Um, wrong.
One of the main reasons I was so uninterested in the series was the annoying reputation of the protagonist's love interest, Edward Cullen, a vampire and the closest thing to perfection humanity had ever seen. Particularly in literature, 'perfection' is a dangerous word. For me, it makes a character seem hollow and all-around frustrating. Perfection isn't *real*. If I wanted a book constantly reminding me how imperfect I am, I'd read a book about Mother Teresa. But some stupid YA novel? Not worth my time.
My sister, however, is an excellent judge of a good book. Considering the fact that I haven't read a YA novel since I was 12 (with the exception of Harry Potter and John Green's novels), I considered myself to be waaaay out of the loop. But she assured me that it was worth a read and that I wouldn't be disappointed.
At first, it was any other YA book. A distressed, "normal" teenager, whining about their life and how they just can't seem to fit in...until *he* made his entrance. That glorious, beautiful, perfect Edward Cullen. Somehow, I fell under the same spell that hundreds of thousands of girls had fallen victim to. There was no way to not love this vampire.
Sure, it may have been the looks. Or the fact that he was so forbidden. Or even that he was just achingly perfect. For me, however, it was the way that Stephenie Meyer managed to portray his infinite love and respect for Bella. It was how he delivered his romantic lines with such...perfection. "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb..." It was the ultimate trust that the protagonist put in him, her ultimate faith in his love.
And like the thousands of other girls around the world, I began to question whether or not a love like the one Edward had for Bella exists in the real world. Or is it just another fantastical element born from the dream of a Mormon housewife? I can only hope that it's real. That around the world, there are men who love someone enough to hold them close every night and to write them lullabies (*sigh*). I hope that there are people beautiful enough to see the beauty in someone "normal" for a different reason than just being "normal". For the sake of mankind, I hope that a love like the one shared between Bella and Edward is possible.
So their story has supposedly come to a close...yeah right. Although it was the most unfinished "ending" to a series I've ever read (and random...I mean, a half human, half vampire baby that no one saw coming, almost killed Bella throughout her gestation and then was beautiful enough to pull off a bizarre name like Renesmee Carlie Cullen?) I look forward to experiencing the series both through the highly anticipated movies and through Edward's eyes as Stephenie Meyer rewrites the series entirely from his point of view.
It was a good finish to an even better beginning. But at least Edward didn't die.
For now, I'll just reflect on how mad I am that I was one Barnes and Noble away from meeting Taylor Lautner at the release party....grrr...DAMN YOU GRAND RAPIDS AND YOUR NUMEROUS BARNES AND NOBLES!! *grumblegrumble*
